Gloo: just my cup of tea

I first took an interest in Gloo because the job description was witty and compelling, and the company was based right in the centre of Reading. So I stalked their Instagram and website and I liked what I saw. It had character and I was confident that working there would bring a welcome change from being just a number in a corporation. A successful application and 36 days later and I can say it has done exactly that.

Responsibility

I had high expectations when I arrived on my first day. It’s fair to say Gloo has exceeded them. I still can’t believe it: I actually did real work on my first day. Of course I received detailed and insightful onboarding sessions throughout my first few weeks, but this was still a pleasant surprise. In previous roles it’s been a solid fortnight of induction meetings before I was involved in any actual work. I had no idea what my day-to-day working life would be like until I was in my third week and now that seems crazy. Gloo was different. Things were transparent from day one and I always knew what to expect.

Training

It was a blessing to be given responsibility relative to my experience from the very beginning. It helped me to learn and develop my skills straightaway and made it much easier to settle in to my new role. A big part of this is Gloo’s investment in employees’ training and growth. I was immediately signed up for a workshop on feature writing in London with the other writers.

I am following a detailed plan of what to achieve in my first few months and loving every minute so far. The friendly atmosphere means there is no such thing as a stupid question and there is always something going on. It’s great to work for a company that invests in each employee and cares about their development.

Culture

The culture of a company is an important factor to me when searching for a job. This is one of the things that drew me to Gloo—its values aligned with mine. ­Four key pillars support the culture at Gloo: professionalism, empathy, creativity and teamwork. It is as simple as that. We reward each other when someone demonstrates one of these values in their work or goes above and beyond to get the job done. It is all about recognition and no one is shy when it comes to saying “well done, you did a great job”—and I love that.

Communication

For me, communication is key. In previous roles I’ve found it frustrating when issues that could have been resolved with a simple conversation were allowed to drag on and on. It was a breath of fresh air when I arrived at Gloo. My team has regular meetings and the wider team sits down for a weekly catch-up so no problem is overlooked or left to fester and everyone is on the same page. This is a big win for me.

Hard work + tea = success!

Having said that, it isn’t all a tea party—though there are always biscuits and lots of tea. Everyone works immensely hard to produce the best quality work and there is no twiddling your thumbs. You roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. It took me weeks to learn all the clever apps and systems we use to help manage projects and keep things secure. But now I can use them all, my job is made much more efficient and everything runs really smoothly.

This is the first agency I have worked for and it is a very different world to internal marketing departments. But that isn’t a bad thing. My first month has been brilliant and I’m sure the many more months to follow will get even better. Life here is fast-paced and you must be able to adapt. Looking back at my previous roles it feels like we were moving at a snail’s pace. At Gloo I know I am pushing myself every single day—and it feels great!